Sinusitis is a condition affecting over millions of Americans, and large populations in the rest of the developed world. Sinusitis can occur when one or more of the four paired sinus cavities, namely the maxillary, ethmoid, frontal or sphenoid cavities, becomes obstructed. Normally the sinus cavities, each of which are lined by mucosa, produce mucous which is then moved by beating cilia from the sinus cavity out to the nasal cavity and down the throat. The combined sinuses produce approximately one liter of mucous daily, so the effective transport of this mucous is important to sinus health.
Each sinus cavity has an opening into the nasal passage called an ostium. When the mucosa of one or more of the ostia or regions near the ostia become inflamed, the egress of mucous can be interrupted, leading to possible infection of the sinus cavity, or sinusitis. Infections of the maxillary and/or ethmoid sinuses usually make up the majority of cases of sinusitis, with fewer cases implicating the sphenoid and frontal sinuses. Sinusitis can be chronic, persisting for many months or even years.
United States Patent Application No. 2005/0107853 to Krespi discloses methods for broad-spectrum treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis wherein electromagnetic radiative energy including visible, and optionally, thermal RF, microwave or other longer wavelengths, is applied to target internal surfaces of the sino-nasal tract to destroy or incapacitate superficial microorganisms without the use of antibiotics. United States Patent Application No. 2009/0054881 to Krespi discloses process for treatment of biofilm which can be resident in the sino-nasal tract. Described processes include applying mechanical shockwaves to remove, disrupt, disperse, dislodge, destroy or attenuate the biofilm. The shockwaves can be generated in a handheld instrument by impinging a laser on a suitable target material.
United States Patent Application No. 2008/0172033 to Keith et al. describes a method of treating a constricted sinus passageway wherein a visualization tool is passed through a lumen or channel in a cannula and a balloon dilation catheter is deployed through the same cannula to place the balloon within or across the constricted anatomical space. The balloon is then expanded to expand a portion of the constricted anatomical space.
Notwithstanding a wide range of available treatments for sinusitis and chronic sinusitis, it would be desirable to have improved methods and systems for performing surgery at inaccessible sinus sites.
The foregoing description of background art may include insights, discoveries, understandings or disclosures, or associations together of disclosures, that were not known to the relevant art prior to the present invention but which were provided by the invention. Some such contributions of the invention may have been specifically pointed out herein, whereas other such contributions of the invention will be apparent from their context. Merely because a document may have been cited here, no admission is made that the field of the document, which may be quite different from that of the invention, is analogous to the field or fields of the present invention.